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Atlantic Ram
So did Morris stick to his guns and the players eventually got better or did Morris realize he needed to make changes?
I think of it more as Morris mastered the Fangio defense, learned how to use his players, and developed his play-calling skills as the season went on more so than either the players getting better or Morris making changes.
It's like taking over a chess game after someone else has already made the first 6 moves.
Personally, I could tell you every move I could make next. But I would struggle to tell you what move I
should make next. In my mind that was Morris at the beginning of last season, figuring out who to play where and what specific defense to call considering the down, distance, field position, score, etc. I think he simply got better at all of that as the season played out.
Then back to that chess game: if I asked 2 different chess experts what move I should make next, I might get 2 different answers, each with valid reasons for their choices. That's how I see some of the differences between the Rams' defense under Staley in 2020 and Morris in 2021 - in many instances they just make different calls from very similar play books.
AlbaNY_Ram
